Kindred Acquaintance
by zelasswilder
Summary: Sawyer and Locke have a talk before they're separated from one another. Locke tells him Sawyer is like the son he never had, knowing he may never come back. Teen for language. Not Slash. Spoilers up until 5x05.


**Author's Notes**: I wrote this late at night. There's not enough loving for the Locke and Sawyer father/son relationship so I'm going to provide some. We all know they're close so I decided to expand off of it.

* * *

"James, do you regret it now?"

"Wha?" Sawyer turned his head, panting in a slightly breathless fashion to look at John Locke as their small time-traveling group trudged through the jungle to their supposable salvation.

"Do you regret joining me instead of Jack now?" Locke evaluated, "Now that we're time traveling and still on the island."

"Well," Sawyer took a deep breath as he stepped over a log and turned to wait for Locke to step over as well so he didn't have to lift the volume of his drawl, "I 'spose things woulda turned out considerably different."

Locke seemed to await for Sawyer to continue his thought and he knew that when Sawyer turned his eyes back in front of him that whatever Sawyer had to say would be more sincere then if the blue-eyed young man had maintained eye contact.

Sawyer didn't continue though, he was exhausted and he just didn't feel like humoring the old man.

"How so?" Locke pressed.

"I dunno, bub," Sawyer chuckled darkly, "Maybe Jackie Chan wouldn't have ever been able to talk to Hannibal in the first place cause o' Freckles. I jus' dunno," he shrugged, "It's a shitpot lotta maybes if ya ask me and a maybe ain't no good for any of us now."

"But do you regret it?" Locke repeated.

"You think I didn't answer that question cause it slipped my mind?" came the blonde's response- dry.

"Oh. Well I-"

"Look," Sawyer's eyes turned to look at him in slight annoyance, "I jumped outta the helicopter by my own damn thought process. That ain't got shit to do with you or Kate or Jack or nuthin'. I did it for me." He scowled and turned his head, "Stop flatterin' yourself. I don't consider you nearly as much as you're under the impression that I do when I go and make my survival plans."

"I consider you when I make my plans," Locke told him.

Sawyer turned and looked at Locke for a long moment, "… Uhuh," he turned his eyes back in front of him, "Look, I know my hair's real long right now but I don't swing like that-"

Locke interrupted him with a light chuckle, "No, James. I just… Well, I've come to think of you almost like my son at this point."

He expected the southerner to embrace the idea and take it as a compliment. Sawyer just kept stepping over large roots and rocks and silence overcame the two so they could hear Juliet speaking to Miles with chitchat. "Was that dumb to say?" Locke asked.

"I'd venture that you'd be able to tell by the cold shoulder it wasn't real bright," Sawyer grumbled.

"You can't tell me that you don't think the island has connected us like this because of fate. You and me have always been separated- I honestly feel a bond to you, James," Locke confessed.

"I'm a Cancer," Sawyer suddenly said.

"Pardon?"

"I figured I'd beat ya to the 'what's your sign' question," came the evaluation.

Locke chuckled softly, "James," he grew serious, "I'm not joking."

"This is mighty uncomfortable," Sawyer mumbled as he flipped his hair out of his face.

"I just wanted to let you know, James."

"I know," Sawyer huffed, "So shut up for once in your hippie-Zen spewin' life and just lead the damn way to your Narnia pathway."

After watching Jin hand over his wedding ring to Locke, after the huge showdown of making sure Sun never found out Jin was alive- Sawyer lowered his head sheepishly. He had it down in a meek fashion almost the entire time, just staring down the well. He couldn't make that fuss even if he wanted to. Kate wasn't his to tell to stay away. He had nobody to tell to stay away that was justified.

In fact, as he stared down the well, he realized the only person who really returned his feelings, whether he liked it or not, was John Locke. The man about to jump down that hole.

"You sure you don' want us to lower you down?" Sawyer asked Locke.

The bald man looked at him and smiled, "Where would be the fun in that?" and his smile turned into a grin.

Sawyer lifted his head slightly and Locke could see the concern in those swampy eyes. That young man with so much potential was depending on him. The humor was lost on Sawyer and Locke grinned again. He should have counted how many times he made a joke to the con-man that he didn't find funny. It just made his joke that much funnier to himself.

The blonde looked down into the hole again, his eyes sad and Locke couldn't help but feel guilty for it. He couldn't help but want to tell Sawyer that he'd come back even though he'd told the four this about six times before.

"John," Juliet made Locke's gaze snap over to her, "If whatever you're attempting to do actually works?" She looked him square in the eyes, "Thank you."

Locke glanced at Sawyer, seeing he hadn't listened to a word Juliet had said and he turned his gaze back to Juliet, "You're welcome," he smiled at her and the beautiful blonde woman smiled back at him. He was going to save them.

Finally John Locke was going to save somebody. All the pain was worth it in the end. He was going to do this.

He jumped off the side and began to ease down, he saw Juliet almost help him but she decided against it and pulled back. Locke looked up to see Sawyer looking down at him in a torn fashion.

About what? Locke didn't know. He wish he could ask.

But he couldn't. There was that humming. No, not that humming! That would be the death of him! Damn it! He had to get to the bottom before the flash!

"Uh-oh," Miles said. What an understatement.

Locke began to hurry as much as he could, cursing under his breath, but he looked down in the well to see the white light coming up to envelop him. He grunted, 'No!' there was no way out. He had to get them off the island and he couldn't do that literally six feet under.

He was special! He was finally special and this was happening! No!

His grip let go and he let out a cry of anguish, falling a few feet and he quickly grabbed hold of the rope.

The rope yanked slightly, Locke could feel it. Then he heard his voice, "JOHN! Damn it! Hold on!" it was Sawyer. Sawyer was going to help him!

It disappeared though, he felt the hold on the rope loosen and he dropped down the well. The ground came up so fast it was a freefall of emotions in his gut before one came over on top.

Pain.

Straight up agony from the loud crunch of his legs underneath him.

John Locke screamed and screamed but Sawyer didn't hear.

Sawyer held the rope tightly, as tightly as he could. That light wouldn't beat him this time! Locke had to save them!

"I think you can let go of that now," Miles told him.

Sawyer turned and his eyes opened incredulously, looking around in surprise before he looked down at the rope. It was still tight he felt the weight- still…

It was anchored into the dirt. There was no well. No John…

There was nothing.

But… He _had_ to be there!

He let his rifle drop and he followed the rope down, "No! NO! No no no no no!" he fell down to his knees, "No no no no no!"

"James."

"No no no no no!" he began to dig into the dirt, "No no no no! No!"

"James, stop."

"Come on and help me!" his head whipped around to snap at Juliet who was annoyingly calm as usual. Miles and Jin shared the same look of sadness in their eyes, but they wouldn't help. Damn it, he'd do it himself.

He turned and kept digging into the dirt for Locke.

"James," Juliet put her hands on his shoulders to ease him from his current mission. He turned and looked up at her, his chest trembling softly to hold back tears. She rubbed his arm softly, "We can't help him."

The words were like venom and he knew she didn't mean it like that so he turned from her to stare down at the covered hole and the rope still in his hands. He took a shaky breath and let it go softly.

He was gone.

The closest thing to a father that James "Sawyer" Ford had ever had was gone.

And he regretted only one thing. That he never told him that the silence hadn't been from awkwardness it was from shock that the affection had been returned.

John Locke would never know it now.

"Damn it all," Sawyer breathed out softly.


End file.
